Derek Brownbill

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Derek Brownbill
Personal information
Full name Derek Anthony Brownbill[1]
Date of birth (1954-02-04) 4 February 1954 (age 71)[1]
Place of birth Liverpool, England[1]
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[2]
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
1970–1972 Liverpool
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1972–1974 Liverpool 1 (0)
1975–1978 Port Vale 92 (13)
1978 Cleveland Cobras 21 (5)
1978–1980 Wigan Athletic 48 (8)
1980–198? Stafford Rangers
198?–1982 Oswestry Town
1982–? Morecambe
Witton Albion 0 (0)
Warrington Town
Total 162+ (26+)
Managerial career
Warrington Town
Curzon Ashton
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Derek Anthony Brownbill (born 4 February 1954) is an English former footballer who played as a forward. He played in the Football League for Liverpool, Port Vale, and Wigan Athletic before spells with American side Cleveland Cobras and English non-League clubs Stafford Rangers, Oswestry Town, Morecambe, Witton Albion, and Warrington Town.

Playing career

Liverpool

Brownbill came through the youth ranks at Liverpool to turn professional at the age of 18;[3] he featured in the 1972 FA Youth Cup final defeat to Aston Villa. He made his only appearance for the senior team on 15 September 1973, in a 1–1 draw with Birmingham City at St Andrew's.[3]

Port Vale

Brownbill joined Port Vale for £5,000 in February 1975.[1] Liverpool manager Bob Paisley rejected a bid of £20,000 from Bury because he had already made a verbal agreement with Vale coach Reg Berks.[4] Brownbill scored his first senior goal in a 1–0 home win over Charlton Athletic on 3 March, when he headed in a free-kick from John Brodie.[5] Brownbill finished the 1974–75 season with four goals in 16 Third Division appearances.[1] He hit nine goals in 41 games in 1975–76, including five in the FA Cup.[1] He scored the equalising goal in a 2–2 draw with Southern League side Grantham in which he had been standing offside.[6] He then scored all four goals in the replay, a 4–1 win.[1]

He lost his first-team place in August 1976, and scored three goals in 23 games in 1976–77.[1] Manager Roy Sproson was sacked in October 1977, however, Brownbill failed to re-establish himself in the first XI under new boss Bobby Smith; he went on to score three goals in 28 appearances in 1977–78.[1] During his time at Vale Park the crowd used to barrack him for being big and clumsy, when in fact it was part of Roy Sproson's plan for Brownbill to shield the ball and allow attacking midfielders Brian Horton and Terry Bailey to get forward and score goals (Horton and Bailey got 27 goals between them in 1974–75 with Brownbill's support).[1]

Later career

Handed a

American Soccer League, only to return to the UK with Wigan Athletic in September. He had 20 starts and 17 substitute appearances in 1978–79, scoring six goals for Ian McNeill's "Latics". Wigan finished the 1979–80 season in sixth place in the Fourth Division. He later moved on to various non-League clubs: Stafford Rangers, Oswestry Town, Morecambe and Witton Albion, before becoming the player-manager of Warrington Town
.

Managerial career

After leaving his post at Warrington Town, he became the manager of Curzon Ashton. He was the Director of Football at Warrington Town until 2009.[7]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[8]
Club Season League FA Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Liverpool 1973–74 First Division 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Port Vale 1974–75 Third Division 16 4 0 0 0 0 16 4
1975–76 Third Division 36 4 3 5 2 0 41 9
1976–77 Third Division 19 2 2 1 2 0 23 3
1977–78 Third Division 21 3 4 0 3 0 28 3
Total 92 13 9 6 7 0 108 19
Wigan Athletic 1978–79 Fourth Division 30 6 1 0 0 0 31 6
1979–80 Fourth Division 18 2 3 1 2 0 23 3
Total 48 8 4 1 2 0 54 9

Honours

Liverpool

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 0-9529152-0-0
    .
  2. ISBN 0362020175
    . Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  3. ^ a b "LFC Past Players". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
  4. ISBN 0-9508981-6-3
    .
  5. ^ Baggaley, Mike (5 March 2025). "Vale frustration in Harrogate stalemate". Valiant's Substack. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
  6. ^ Baggaley, Mike (6 March 2025). "Finding the right balance in promotion push". Valiant's Substack. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
  7. ^ "Dave Hughes and Derek Brownbill step down from Warrington Town roles". Warrington Guardian. 2009. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
  8. ^ Derek Brownbill at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
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